Funding

The day's classes ended quickly. That afternoon was all the same old Martial Way Theory lessons.

After all, martial artists generally only needed to understand how to practice cultivation methods in the future.

So the study of Martial Way Theory was mostly just basic common knowledge.

Such as the types of other races, the distinctions between different cultivation methods, common pills, and the countering relationships between martial arts...

Xu Ziming had long since memorized all of it by heart. Otherwise, he would not have scored 182 points on the First Mock Exam.

The dismissal bell had rung long ago, but Xu Ziming packed up rather slowly.

By the time all the other students had left, Ma Mingyu happened to walk in from outside.

Only the two of them remained in the empty classroom. He walked up to Xu Ziming, looked him over twice, and smiled.

"Your swordsmanship is pretty good. How are you doing in Martial Way Theory?"

Xu Ziming paused. "Not bad. If I work harder, I might be able to reach 200 points on the College Entrance Exam."

Ma Mingyu did not comment on that. Instead, he said, "Then what you lack most right now should be Life Energy Level. Can you reach 4.5 before the College Entrance Exam?"

Ma Mingyu had already known in the classroom that Xu Ziming's Life Energy Level had reached 3.0.

And 4.5 was the minimum Life Energy Level requirement for Lingxiao Academy, the strongest Martial Way University in all of Suzhe Province and one everyone dreamed of attending.

Even across the entire Xia Kingdom, Lingxiao Academy was one of the four strongest schools.

The other three were located in the capital, the Magic City, and the Northwest Province.

The nation's Martial Way Universities could roughly be divided by rank into the Four Great Academies and the Five Great Spirit Schools.

The rest were various First-Tier Universities and second-tier universities.

Xu Ziming's former dream had been to get into Pengcheng Martial University, where a Life Energy Level of 3.0 was enough to meet the standard.

Hearing this, Xu Ziming fell silent for a moment.

His progress had indeed been rapid lately, especially now that he had already reached the undergraduate cutoff.

But he had absolutely no confidence that he could reach 4.0 afterward.

The Basic Body Forging Method only greatly increased one's Life Energy Level upon initial mastery.

Even if he made breakthroughs afterward, his Life Energy Level would not change much.

If he wanted to improve quickly, resources were still the most important thing.

Seeing his silence, Ma Mingyu slowly said, "Winter break has just ended. After the next weekly test, the school will organize a College Entrance Exam Sprint Class."

"With your academic grades and practical combat ability, as long as your Life Energy Level reaches the requirement, getting in will hardly be a problem."

Xu Ziming was not unaware of the Martial Way Sprint Class. As long as one got in, they would receive the school's full support.

Although Pengcheng No. 3 High School could not guarantee that someone would enter one of the Four Great Academies every year, every year it had a double-digit number of students admitted to the Five Great Spirit Schools.

And all of them came from the Martial Way Sprint Class.

"Poor scholars, wealthy warriors" had been an unchanging truth since ancient times.

Especially in this era, with advances in technology, medicines that assisted martial arts training had become increasingly effective.

However, Xu Ziming's family was ordinary. Even if they poured all their savings into it, it would still be far from enough.

Even if he wanted to enter the Sprint Class, was there enough time? Were there enough resources?

There were only two days left before the weekly test.

Ma Mingyu seemed to see through Xu Ziming's thoughts. Changing his tone, he said, "Your Basic Body Forging Method has already reached the initial stage. As long as you have a steady supply of resources from now on, your Life Energy Level will rise quickly as well."

He paused, took a small metal box from his pocket, and handed it to Xu Ziming.

"This is..." Xu Ziming took the box in confusion. It was slightly heavy in his hand and carried a faint warmth.

"Open it and take a look."

At his words, Xu Ziming opened the lid. Five transparent glass tubes, each as thick as a finger, lay neatly inside.

The tubes were filled with thick blue liquid that refracted an unusual gleam beneath the lights. Looking closely, he could even see tiny specks of light flowing within.

"These are Blood Qi Potions." Ma Mingyu's voice was low. "E-Grade ones, just right for raising the Life Energy Level of those who haven't become martial artists yet."

"Keep them. One every two days. I'll help you figure out the Sprint Class."

Xu Ziming abruptly raised his head to look at Ma Mingyu, his hand trembling slightly.

Blood Qi Potions!

Advertisements for these things played constantly between television programs. It was not as if he had never seen them before.

Even the lowest-grade E-Grade potion in his hand cost five thousand yuan per tube, nearly a month and a half of his family's income.

And there were five whole tubes in this box.

"Teacher Ma, this is too valuable. I..." Xu Ziming closed the lid and instinctively tried to hand it back, but Ma Mingyu firmly grabbed his hand.

"Take it. Do well on the weekly test in two days. If your results are good, consider these five potions a gift. If they're not, pay me back after you graduate and start earning money."

Ma Mingyu smiled at Xu Ziming.

Holding the box that still radiated faint warmth, Xu Ziming felt his heart grow hot as well.

Every word of refusal stuck in his throat. He took a deep breath, stood straight, and bowed to Ma Mingyu.

"Thank you, Teacher. I definitely won't let you down!" His voice was a little hoarse, and upon closer listening, it trembled slightly.

This was the first time someone had trusted him so much.

"Alright, go home." A faint smile appeared on Ma Mingyu's face as he waved his hand. "The instructions are in the box. Take one half an hour before every training session for the best results."

"Remember, external help is ultimately just external help. On the path of Martial Way, everything still comes down to your own effort."

"I understand, Teacher!"

On the way home, Xu Ziming felt that even his steps had become lighter. With the potions and the Equipment Slot working together, his strength would definitely increase by quite a bit again.

When he pushed open the front door, the scent of dinner was as familiar as ever.

His mother had already been waiting at home, and his younger sister was seated at the table as well.

Xu Ziming suppressed the excitement in his heart. He talked and ate as usual, without mentioning the Blood Qi Potions.

It was not that he was deliberately hiding it. He simply worried that his parents would fret over him, feel that they owed someone a great favor, and become uncomfortable because of it.

There were some things that, as a man, he could bear himself. There was no need to give his family more worries.

He was confident that he could achieve excellent results in the weekly test two days later and enter the College Entrance Exam Sprint Class.

After dinner, Xu Ziming immediately returned to his room. He took the hidden metal box from his backpack, opened the lid, and removed a potion.

[Detected an equippable item: E-Grade Blood Qi Potion.]

[Estimated trait effect "Filter Charge": Doubles the speed of absorbing Blood Qi from food or potions, while automatically filtering negative effects.]

[Permanent solidification requirement: Consume ten E-Grade Blood Qi Potions.]

[Equip?]

Sure enough, he could equip anything related to the Martial Way.

He could go find items that temporarily boosted combat power. If he equipped them then, they might produce an unexpected effect during the weekly test.

"Equip."

[Equipment successful. Obtained trait: "Filter Charge"]